Butterfly diversity
Vesper Meadow is in the heart of butterfly country. We were fortunate to launch programs at Vesper Meadow during the same year that the regional Cascade-Siskiyou Butterfly Monitoring Network launched its butterfly diversity survey. Each year since 2019 we have engaged volunteers in this capture-release survey to help monitor population trends and contribute to the knowledge about butterfly species distribution in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwestern Oregon and northern California. This monitoring project provides land managers with information on important pollinator host plants and the habitat associations, and at Vesper Meadow it helps us to monitor the effectiveness of our restoration at Vesper Meadow. We are grateful to Charlie Schelz, Ecologist with the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, and Candace Fallon, Entomologist with the Xerces Society for creating this project.
After the first three years data collection, Southern Oregon University students created an assessment of the two survey areas at Vesper Meadow, check out their poster:
More on the biodiversity of the Cascade-Siskiyou
Excerpts below From The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument 2019-2021 Butterfly Monitoring Program Report, Schelz, Charles, and Candace Fallon. Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Bureau of land Management, Medford, Oregon.
Located in southwest Oregon and stretching into a small sliver of northern California, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (CSNM) is one of the most biodiverse regions in the Pacific Northwest. Within its boundaries three major ecoregions, the Cascade Mountains, Klamath-Siskiyou Mountains, and Great Basin, meld together and give rise to species assemblages found nowhere else on Earth. Elevations range from 730 to 1,932 m (2,493 to 6,339 ft.), with mixed-conifer forests typically dominating the highest elevations and north-facing slopes and oak woodlands and grasslands taking over the lower elevations and south-facing slopes. The landscape here is a mosaic of white fir forests, juniper scablands, wide open meadows, and chaparral, jostling with mixed forests of Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, and incense cedar. Wildflowers carpet oak woodlands, grasslands, and rocky outcroppings. Botanical diversity and rates of endemism are high.
All this variation in topography, plant communities, and climates has made the Monument one of the most species-rich regions for butterflies in the United States (BLM 2008). Over 120 species have been reported from within its borders (Appendix A), representing roughly 74 percent of Oregon’s known butterfly fauna (Warren 2005). Several rare butterflies have been documented on the Monument, including the gray blue butterfly (Agriades podarce klamathensis) and mardon skipper (Polites mardon). Other butterflies, such as the gold-hunter’s hairstreak (Satyrium auretorum), are found here at the very northern limits of their range.
photo by Rob Santry
Given its rich assemblage of habitats and corresponding butterfly diversity, the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is an ideal location for a long-term butterfly monitoring program. Butterflies can be important indicators of ecosystem health, and changes in their populations are often associated with habitat alteration, climate change, and alterations in plant community health and composition. Butterflies make ideal monitoring targets because they are relatively easy to observe and identify and are generally well described taxonomically. In addition, detailed regional field guides and species keys are often available.
Insect populations naturally fluctuate from year to year, making long-term monitoring important for providing an accurate picture of species distribution and population trends. Long-term monitoring also provides land managers with a tool to identify future research needs and inform adaptive management strategies. This type of monitoring also allows us to prioritize conservation actions for at-risk species and habitats, and effectively prevent the decline of many other species.
Want to start learning to identify butterflies? Check out our handy butterfly brochure available: